Go to the study room.
"My lord, see your majesty."
Changsun Wuji walked to Li Shimin and bowed respectfully.
Li Shimin showed a gentle smile. How could he still look as wild and extreme as before?
"Sit, sit."
"Auxiliary engine, you sit down."
He invited him again and again.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Changsun Wuji sat down in response and looked at Li Shimin.
"Auxiliary machine, when the civil and military forces of the entire dynasty fiercely opposed my imperial conquest and command of the navy, you were not led astray by them. Instead, you had your own opinions."
Li Shimin praised,
"This is so valuable!"
"Looking at the entire court, only you and Xu Fenglei can stay calm and not follow the crowd."
Changsun Wuji raised his eyes and said seriously:
"Your Majesty is ridiculous. I just did what a minister should do."
"I know very well that quarreling cannot solve the problem, but will make the court a mess."
"When there are differences between His Majesty's ideas and those of the ministers, as a minister, there is only one thing I have to do, and that is to resolve the differences and find a plan that is in line with His Majesty's ideas and can be supported by the ministers."
"I'm ashamed. This plan was thought up by the Grand Master. I just echoed it. It's not worthy of His Majesty's praise."
After hearing these words, Li Shimin nodded repeatedly and gave a thumbs up!
"Okay, okay!"
Li Erda praised,
"You already have the magnanimity and wisdom of a chief assistant!"
"Auxiliary machine, you know that I have never been a reckless person. Since I have decided to go to Goguryeo, I naturally have to make proper arrangements for the DPRK."
"This time, I plan to let the prince supervise the country, so that he can experience it and enhance some of his ability to govern."
"After all, I am getting old too... I might not be able to live for a few more years. I have to let this child grow up quickly, so I can rest assured!"
As he spoke, he stroked his beard.
Li Shimin was not yet fifty, but his beard and hair were already a little gray.
Being a wise king really consumes your life... This time you have to go to war, which is an extremely labor-intensive job.
It is no exaggeration to say that he is burning his life now to pave the way for his son and to finally have fun for himself.
"His Majesty……"
"You...you must not say that, you are less than fifty..."
Changsun Wuji felt a little sad when he heard these words, and his voice trembled slightly.
"Okay, okay, don't talk about these useless things."
Li Shimin waved his hand and said,
"Let's get down to business."
"Since I have appointed the prince to supervise the country, I must arrange for a capable and reliable minister to assist him in handling all government affairs."
"Do you have anyone to recommend?"
Changsun Wuji wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and said without thinking:
"Your Majesty, I think Fang Xuanling is the most suitable person."
"The prime minister is mature, stable and conscientious. If the prince has his help, he will definitely not make any mistakes."
Li Shimin smiled.
"Fang Xuanling... is pretty good."
He stared at Changsun Wuji and said with a smile,
"But this time, I choose you."
"Your talents are not inferior to Fang Xuanling's! In addition, you and Zhinu have always been close, and the relationship between your nephew and uncle is very good. I don't have to worry about friction and conflicts between you at all."
“So, it’s perfect for you to be the assistant minister!”
Changsun Wuji was shocked!
That breakfast this morning was really the breakfast that changed the trajectory of his life!
Thank you to God, thank you to earth, thank you to Grand Master for your guidance!
He got the position of chief assistant - Wuhu!
Changsun Wuji was extremely happy, but after all, he was born in Tiance Mansion, so his acting skills were completely unqualified.
I saw him looking solemn, bowing down and saying:
"Your Majesty, I don't dare to take on this important responsibility! I'm not trying to shirk... I'm really afraid that I won't do well and will fail your Majesty's trust!"
The more you want it, the less you can show your desire.
When dealing with the emperor, pulling is the most important thing.
Without a few tugs, the emperor would not hand over the burden with confidence.
"Hey, when have you ever made a mistake in doing something? There are only a few people in the world who can make me feel completely at ease. Your grandson Wuji is the only one!"
Li Shimin encouraged,
"Believe in yourself!"
"You do a good job and let the ministers in the court see and the people in the world see that Fang Xuanling is not the only one in the Tang Dynasty who can shoulder the heavy burden!"
"Your grandson Wuji is also capable of ruling the world!"
Changsun Wuji was shocked.
"Yes! Your Majesty thinks so highly of me, I am so grateful! Please rest assured, your Majesty, I will definitely do my best to assist the prince in running the government well!"
"My lord, I obey the order!"
His tone was sonorous and he bowed deeply to Li Shimin.
"Well, good... With your words, I will have no worries when fighting on the front line."
Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile,
"Sit, sit."
"Come here, call the prince."
The nearby waiter left in response, and after a while, Li Zhi walked into the upper study room.
"See Father."
"I met my uncle."
He was very well-behaved, and he saluted the two of them squarely when he came up.
"The prince is well." Changsun Wuji quickly stood up and returned the greeting.
"Get flat."
Li Shimin waved to Li Zhi, grabbed his arm and pointed at Changsun Wuji:
"Child slave, my father will go out to fight in a while."
"At that time, you will be in charge of the Tang Dynasty. My father has arranged for your uncle to be your chief assistant."
"You have to ask for advice on everything. If you don't know, don't understand, or can't make up your mind, you should ask your uncle for his opinion and discuss with him to make a decision."
"do you understand?"
Li Zhi nodded obediently.
"Yes, Father."
He looked at Li Shimin and couldn't help but said,
"Father...can you not go on an expedition?"
"My child will miss you. When the time comes, he will miss you so much that he won't be able to sleep... What should I do?"
When Li Shimin heard this, his heart almost melted, and he hurriedly said:
"Child slave, my father will miss you too. When the time comes, my father will write to you every day and we can chat every day, okay?"
"Well! Then we have an agreement!" After hearing this, Li Zhi smiled and nodded with satisfaction.
Li Shimin also smiled and touched his head.
The warmth between father and son made the whole upper study feel warm.
Li Shimin's favorite child now is Li Zhi, and this love far exceeds his original love for Li Tai.
This is not only because he is both a father and a mother, taking care of the children himself, but also because Li Zhi is well-behaved and considerate, more like a caring little cotton jacket than a girl.
When it comes to filial piety, no one in this world can compare to Li Zhi!
"uncle."
Li Zhi turned to Changsun Wuji and cupped his hands, and said respectfully,
"Children, you must listen to your uncle more and ask your uncle's opinion first on everything."
Changsun Wuji waved his hands repeatedly and said:
"Don't dare, don't dare. It's better to listen to the prince's opinion on everything. I'm just assisting and giving some suggestions."
Even so, he was already happy.
Once the old emperor left, wouldn't it be easy for the young prince to handle him?
By then, he will be the only one in this Tai Chi Palace!
Changsun Wuji thought happily, but he didn't notice the faint eyes on Li Zhi's harmless face...
…
Three months later.
As soon as the emperor's edict for personal conquest was issued, the recruitment and mobilization was in full swing!
Military conscription in the Tang Dynasty was completely different from that in the Sui Dynasty.
When the Sui Dynasty invaded Goguryeo, the people sang "Wuxiang Liaodong's Death Song" to oppose the war.
When the Tang Dynasty attacked Goguryeo, my dear, it was a roar of gongs and drums, firecrackers were blasting, and red flags were waving. It was a sea of people! A large group of men were crowded at the recruitment office, and they would not give up until they registered!
To put it harshly, so many strong men just pooped every day, almost blowing up the dry toilet at the head of the village.
This is not because Li Shimin is too charming, but because... being a soldier in the Tang Dynasty is really profitable! It is an upward path that ordinary people can really see and touch!
He has military merit, and he really delivers on it!
If there were spoils of war, he would really share them!
Serving as a soldier in the Tang Dynasty, especially during wartime, really fulfilled the saying, "If you fight hard, you will be rich for three generations"! Definitely not a scam!
Of course... this was the only thing that existed in the early Tang Dynasty.
In a few decades or hundreds of years, it will look like another bird.
…
Tai Chi Palace.
In the martial arts arena, a young man was riding on a horse, galloping back and forth, shooting arrows in his hand like shooting stars!
Poof!
Puff puff!
Every arrow hits the red heart!
"good!"
Li Shimin couldn't help but applaud and praised,
"Well done Cheng Qian!"
"You have the same style as I did back then! Oh no, I wasn't as accurate as you back then!"
"Give you a strong general, and you can kill indiscriminately among thousands of troops!"
"Come on, come on, come on down, rest for a while, your body has just recovered, don't be too tired."
At this moment, Li Er did not hesitate to praise Li Chengqian, as if he wanted to make up for all the lack of praise in the past.
"Hey……"
Li Chengqian gathered his bow and arrows, wiped his sweat, and showed a bit of pride on his face.
Snapped!
He immediately turned over and dismounted, saluting Li Shimin.
"Sit, sit."
Li Shimin took his hand and said affectionately,
"Eat some pastries... Oh yes, I remember that you can't eat anything too sweet. Do you have any taboos?"
Li Chengqian put down his bow and arrow and shook his head.
"It's no longer necessary. In the past few years, I have traveled through mountains and rivers and walked barefoot on mountain roads. My feet have healed and my disease has disappeared."
He smiled and said,
"Grandpa Sun checked my son yesterday. He is in great health now and there is nothing wrong with him at all!"
"It seems that Erchen should leave early. That position does not belong to Erchen. Keeping it occupied can only be torture. After letting it go, Erchen really felt more relaxed than ever before."
Seeing Li Chengqian's high spirits, Li Shimin couldn't help but patted him on the shoulder and said in admiration:
"Okay, okay!"
"This is you! My dear Chengqian, you should look like this full of energy!"
"I heard that you also wrote a travel diary? Let me see it?"
Li Chengqian didn't hesitate, quickly took out a thin book from his arms, handed it over and said:
"It's not finished yet. I've managed to travel all over the land of Kyushu, but there are still some important monuments that I haven't visited yet."
"There are also places beyond the Great Wall and in the desert. I want to visit those places, so write them down!"
"Traveling around the world and recording everything is my long-cherished wish!"
Wow.
Li Shimin gently opened a page.
"Then I'm afraid you won't be able to finish your journey in this life. Your master said that the Tang Dynasty only accounts for less than 10% of the world."
He said with a smile,
"The Western Region alone is bigger than the Tang Dynasty."
When Li Chengqian heard this, he didn't take it seriously at all.
"Then keep walking, keep on the road!"
“Those who travel through the green mountains will never grow old!”
He was a ranger, and he was addicted to it.
"This is a well-written book, I'm really looking forward to it!"
Li Shimin turned over a few pages, praised it, then closed it gently and said with a smile,
"You have a good idea. You have been traveling around the world."
"However, our father is encountering some difficulties and may need your help."
"I wonder if you are willing?"
Now Li Shimin will no longer use a strong commanding tone when talking to Li Chengqian, but will communicate in a consultative, even low-profile tone.
This attitude is naturally very comfortable for Li Chengqian.
"Father, please speak."
Li Chengqian did not hesitate and said decisively,
"As long as I can help you, I will do my best!"
Li Shimin nodded happily.
"You know, since your master destroyed the Turks, the resettlement of the Turks has become a problem, and the large area of land in northern Xinjiang has become difficult for me to deal with."
He sighed softly,
"In that vast wilderness, I really can't allocate energy or population to manage or develop it. It's even difficult to station troops because it's really too big."
"People say you can't shit if you occupy the latrine. To put it bluntly, it's difficult for us to even occupy the latrine."
"Such a fertile grassland, the surrounding countries are eyeing it. If we don't occupy it, it will naturally be occupied by those nomads. This is the case with Xue Yantuo..."
"In just a dozen years, they have occupied half of the former Turkic territory and have become a behemoth in northern Xinjiang!"
"This is really a headache for my father..."
After Li Chengqian listened carefully, his brows were already furrowed.
"That is our Tang Dynasty's land, why does Xue Yantuo occupy it?"
"We must make them spit it out! Or, destroy them!"
Li Shimin hummed.
"They should be exterminated, but exterminating them will only treat the symptoms but not the root cause. When Xue Yantuo is exterminated, the Western Turks will come to get involved, and the Khitan will also want to get a share of the pie."
He said in a deep voice,
"In the end, they still occupied it!"
"So, I want to cure the root cause! We must solve the problem from the source and benefit and develop the Turkic land!"
Li Chengqian realized something.
"My father's intention... is that he wants his son to establish himself in northern Xinjiang, like Li Ke did, to set up a royal flag and turn the Turkic homeland into a feudal state?"
Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian and said with some earnestness:
"Yes! My father wants you to become the king of the old Turkic lands and establish your own kingdom! And your task is to manage the northern territory well and resist the invasion of Xue Yantuo, Khitan and other countries!"
"Father and the imperial court will provide you with all the support you need!"
"Are you willing?"
As soon as the question came out, Li Er was actually a little nervous.
Cheng Qian has just been relieved of a heavy burden... Will he be willing to take on a new burden?
However, to Li Shimin's expectation, Li Chengqian nodded without thinking and said:
"Since I am sharing my father's worries and doing my best for the country, it is my duty to serve as my son!"
(End of chapter)
